Veterans Day extra special for Upper Burrell WWII soldier Norman Myers as he celebrates 100th birthday

Apollo native and Army veteran Norman Myers was among the first soldiers to enter Tokyo after World War II for the ceremonial raising of the American flag on Sept. 8, 1945.

“When they dropped that bomb, if you didn’t keep your feet 4 foot off the ground, you didn’t make it,” Myers said.

“My guys made it.”

A staff sergeant for three years, he served alongside his two older brothers in the Philippines, was wounded in battle and earned a Purple Heart for his service.

“I don’t like to talk too much about it,” said Myers, who with his wife, Dolly, raised a family in Upper Burrell.

The onetime coal miner and Sullivan’s Auto mechanic has left his military memories long behind, and these days gets more excited to talk about his guitar and his great-grandchildren.

He might even strum a few tunes, Myers said, when he marks his 100th birthday Saturday — Veterans Day.

“It’s a big one,” he said, smiling from the living room of his home along Whitten Hollow Road.

“I’m just happy about it all.”

Friends and family will gather at Pugliano’s Italian Grill in Plum to celebrate Myers. State Rep. Jill Cooper is expected to be on hand to present him with a legislative certificate.

Myers’ grandson, Zach Chizar, will make the cross-state trip from Philadelphia for the festivities.

“I always remembered his birthday growing up because it fell on Veterans Day,” Chizar said.

“We’re all so happy he is still here with us and look forward to so many more memories with him.”

Once Myers reached his 90s, he told everyone in the family he wanted to make it onto the Smucker’s jar, as marked on TV’s “Today Show.”

Daughter Sharon Chizar plans to use an oversized cut-out frame with a likeness of the jelly jar for party photos.

“My dad has a great sense of humor and would always have silly random rhymes,” Sharon said. “I think he’ll be happy to get that Smucker’s jar.

“He’s usually laid-back, and when times are challenging, he says, ‘Stay on the sunny side.’ ”

Born into a large family, Myers is one of two surviving siblings among 12 children. He enlisted in the Army in 1942 before he could be drafted and saw battle in Australia, New Guinea and Japan. Myers served as a staff sergeant of the 2nd Squadron 7th Cavalry until he was discharged at Fort Indiantown Gap on Oct. 20, 1945.

He and his wife recently celebrated their 74th wedding anniversary.

Zach Chizar recalled his grandfather’s younger days as “always busy doing anything automotive or mechanical, and he could fix any engine that needed repaired.

“He still enjoys listening to country music and can at any moment break out into a song that he probably knew from decades ago. It’s those lasting characteristics that lets us know he’s doing OK and still with it.”

Known to his family as a tinkerer and a jokester, Myers still is quick with a smile.

“I don’t like trouble,” he said.

His secret to longevity?

“Whatever comes, goes,” Myers said. “I just go with it.”

Tawnya Panizzi is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tawnya by email at tpanizzi@triblive.com or via Twitter .